34.2 Managing bhyve VMs via Web Interface with BVCP

bhyve is the native hypervisor for FreeBSD, providing hardware-assisted virtualization support through the vmm kernel module, allowing guest operating systems to directly utilize CPU virtualization extension instruction sets.

BVCP (bhyve Virtual-Machine Control Panel) is a web-based graphical management tool for bhyve that can create, start, and stop virtual machines.

This section's test environment is based on FreeBSD 14.2-RELEASE. BVCP version 2.1.4 does not yet support Chinese localization.

The software project repository address is: https://github.com/DaVieS007/bhyve-webadmin

Tip

No need to configure any services, load any modules, or install other software in advance. Following the steps in this section will complete the operation.

Installing BVCP

Installing BVCP involves the following steps:

• Download the BVCP distribution file: Use the fetch command to obtain the BVCP archive from the official server.

# fetch https://bhyve.npulse.net/release.tgz

• Extract the BVCP distribution file: Extract the downloaded archive to the current directory.

# tar -xzvf release.tgz

• Install BVCP: Enter the extracted directory and execute the installation script, which will automatically complete software deployment, database initialization, and service configuration.

# cd bhyve-webadmin
root@ykla:/home/ykla/bhyve-webadmin # ./install.sh
Installing BVCP into your FreeBSD Installation within seconds ...

Press [CTRL] + [C] to Abort !
bvcp_enable:  -> YES
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | Kinga-Framework | 2024/02-17@build-336/FreeBSD64-L
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | Product Name| BVCP-Backend
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | Description | BVCP Bhyve Backend/Helper Module
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | License | Community Edition
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | Copyright   | All rights reserved for the author: nPulse.net / Viktor Hlavaji
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | Guardian | Create Process, PID: 1132
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | SW | VFS:BuiltIn Loaded
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | ThreadPool | 10/10 Threads initialised
 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | LVM::MAIN | Initialising ..




                        ██████╗ ██╗   ██╗ ██████╗██████╗
                        ██╔══██╗██║   ██║██╔════╝██╔══██╗
                        ██████╔╝██║   ██║██║     ██████╔╝
                        ██╔══██╗╚██╗ ██╔╝██║     ██╔═══╝
                        ██████╔╝ ╚████╔╝ ╚██████╗██║
                        ╚═════╝   ╚═══╝   ╚═════╝╚═╝

 N  2024-12-21 11:32:35 | BVCP | Initialising BVCP-Backend 2.1.4 Application

  [>] Generating Entropy ... [217157D53CDD4122589AEE05D866C84C]

 Welcome to initial setup menu!
 The Software is located at: /var/lib/nPulse/BVCP

 The Software is producing pseudo filesystem scheme for virtual machines using symlinks
 Where to create metadata, iso_images, database, config, logs: (Does not need much space), default: [/vms]_>   # Press Enter to confirm; the iso_images required for installation will be stored in this directory

...part omitted...


Bhyve Virtual-Machine Control Panel under FreeBSD

 N  2024-12-21 11:33:46 | BVCP | Initialising BVCP-Backend 2.1.4 Application
 N  2024-12-21 11:33:48 | BVCP | Starting Database ...
 (!) Admin Credentials recreated,
   - User: admin 		# Username admin
   - Password: AdJFjNjG # Password AdJFjNjG

 N  2024-12-21 11:33:48 | SW | Program exited gracefully...
Installation Finished!

Navigate: https://[your-ip]:8086  # Access address is https://[your-ip]:8086; if accessing from the machine where BVCP is installed, you can use https://localhost:8086

Warning

The above administrator password is displayed in plaintext on standard output. Please log in to the web interface and change the default password immediately after installation to prevent unauthorized access. If the installation process takes place in a non-secure environment (such as a remote SSH session, shared terminal, etc.), ensure that the output has not been intercepted by others.

Tip

The username ykla, hostname ykla, and path /home/ykla shown in the examples in this section are all samples; please replace them with actual values based on your environment.

File structure:

/
├── var/
│   └── lib/
│       └── nPulse/
│           └── BVCP/ # BVCP software installation location
└── vms/ # Virtual machine metadata, ISO images, database, configuration, and logs storage directory
    └── iso_images/ # ISO image storage directory

Installing Ubuntu 24.04

The installation process is divided into two main steps: obtaining the installation image and configuring the virtual machine through the web interface.

• Download the Ubuntu 24.04 installation image: Obtain the Ubuntu 24.04 desktop edition installation image from the University of Science and Technology of China mirror site.

# fetch https://mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/ubuntu-releases/noble/ubuntu-24.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso

• Move the image to the BVCP image directory: Move the downloaded ISO file to the BVCP-configured image storage directory so that the web interface can recognize and use it.

# mv ubuntu-24.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso /vms/iso_images

After completing the above preparations, you can start creating the virtual machine through the web interface. The following screenshots demonstrate the complete configuration process:

Configuration process

Configuration process

Configuration process

When logging in, ignore the email field displayed at the top; simply enter the username admin and the corresponding password generated during installation.

Login interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

Configuration interface

After installation is complete, press Enter to reboot the system.

Reboot system

After rebooting, enter the new system:

New system interface

Installing Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, version 24H2 (x64) - DVD (English)

The detailed steps are similar to the Ubuntu 24.04 installation instructions above; see the previous section "Installing Windows 11 Using bhyve and vm-bhyve" for details. Only the key differences are listed here.

When creating a new network interface in the Create new network interface step, pay special attention to the network card type selection:

Network card configuration

Windows does not include drivers for other network card types by default, so please select the Intel PRO e1000 network card type.

Network card selection

After completing the network card configuration, you can begin the installation.

Installation process

Troubleshooting and Unresolved Issues

This section lists issues that may be encountered when using BVCP and their solutions.

How to Uninstall BVCP

If you need to uninstall BVCP, refer to the official documentation (FreeBSD bhyve Project. Uninstallation of BVCP[EB/OL]. [2026-03-26]. https://bhyve.npulse.net/uninstall).

References

• たかちゃん. bhyve を GUI で 操作 する BVCP の 導入。[EB/OL]. running-dog.net, (2024-02-05)[2026-03-25]. https://running-dog.net/2024/02/post_2933.html. Provides a practical guide for BVCP installation and configuration.
• FreeBSD bhyve Project. How to install BVCP[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://bhyve.npulse.net/installation. Official installation instructions detailing the BVCP deployment process.
• FreeBSD bhyve Project. TroubleShoot / Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://bhyve.npulse.net/technical. Common troubleshooting and FAQ, providing troubleshooting solutions.
• FreeBSD bhyve Project. Deploy Virtual Machine (Windows)[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://bhyve.npulse.net/deploy_windows. Official Windows installation instructions detailing Windows virtual machine deployment.